


I come to you in pieces

by annabeth_writes



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Daredevil S3, F/M, Language, Speculation, a girl can dream, anyway, but of the definitely won't happen kind since frank isn't going to be in s3 apparently
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 20:39:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16226927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabeth_writes/pseuds/annabeth_writes
Summary: When a recently released Wilson Fisk makes it clear that he knows all about Karen's confrontation with Wesley and threatens her, she desperately turns to an unlikely source of help only to reunite with the very man that keeps popping up in her life.





	I come to you in pieces

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first kastle fic! (and hopefully not my last)
> 
> I've been in love with the pairing for a while now, since dd season 2, but a recent rewatch of the Netflix Marvel shows has made me fall in love with it all over again and I've finally decided to do something with that. I hope that everyone likes it.
> 
> Title: Pieces - Red

It wasn’t rare for her to end up as one of the last people in the building. Karen found comfort in the peaceful quiet of the Bulletin’s office after dark. Sometimes, she felt more at home in the well-used chair of her office than in her own apartment, even if it was hard to stop calling it Ben’s office no matter how much time passed. A weary look came over Ellison’s face every time she did but he never lost his patience in correcting her. If nothing else, they silently connected over the guilt they felt every time they remembered the man who deserved far better than what he got.

This night didn’t feel any different from the nights before. Not at first. Karen settled in her chair with a rapidly cooling cup of coffee within reach and her eyes growing more and more fatigued from the effort of focusing on her computer and the papers spread all around her. She was in the middle of investigating yet another corrupt slumlord  — because Hell’s Kitchen never seemed to run out of those  —  when she felt the air practically shift around her. The peaceful quiet suddenly became eerie and her skin crawled as every instinct in her body told her to get out now.

Karen looked up as her breath seized in her throat, part of her wondering what could have possibly set off the alarm bells in her own head as she stood slowly, her hands trembling as she contemplated how risky it would be to cross the small room to her purse where it hung on the door. The creak of the floor under a heavy footfall set her heart racing and her eyes fell closed for a brief moment as she forced herself to inhale deeply, her hand reaching for the phone that sat on her desk instead.

Then the massive shape of the man who invaded her nightmares far too often filled the shadowed width of her door and her chair rolled backward as she moved away on instinct, her hand coming up to cover her mouth instead. Of course, she knew he was out of prison. His face had been posted everywhere, including on the Bulletin’s front page, for weeks now. But there was a part of Karen that had convinced herself that one of the worst nights of her life was a distant memory that couldn’t come back to haunt her no matter where Wilson Fisk was.

But he was here now and it would take a fool not to know why.

She reached for her phone again, her fingers barely brushing it. Then he spoke and her body seized up as fear shot through her, knowing that the hands she could see adjusting the jacket he wore were the same ones that choked the life from Ben Urich’s body.

“The man who had this office before you,” Wilson Fisk said, taking a step inside. “You’re more like him than I imagined.”

Karen took another step back as her fingers wrapped tight around her phone, her breath leaving her lips in short bursts.

“I dismissed you before,” he continued in that whispery voice of his that sent chills down her spine. “I thought you became unimportant once the Union Allied story broke, written in this very office. Not even worth being a piece on the board. You proved me wrong, I suppose.”

She swallowed hard, refusing to speak because she knew that her voice would tremble and show him her fear, as if the smell of it didn’t taint the air around them already. Her thumb fumbled across the screen of her phone, trying to find the button at the bottom that would unlock it.

“You would certainly earn a place on the board now, Miss Page,” Fisk said, leveling her with a calculating stare. “Your abilities have earned you the respect of thousands and I would give you the same, if only you hadn’t killed James Wesley.”

Her blood ran cold at his words. There was no hiding from it now. She didn’t even need to question how he found out. There was no point in it, just like there was no purpose in denying it.

“People will know,” Karen said, her voice shaking just as she knew it would. “You’re not in the shadows anymore.”

“I’m not here to kill you,” Fisk said even as he stalked further into the room. “Not yet, at least.”

Karen moved to the right of her chair, pushing it between them. There was no way that she would go down without a fight. She didn’t trust his words, only the intent in his eyes.

“Then why are you here?”

“To tell you what I do plan to do,” Fisk said, rounding her desk just as she moved to the other side.

She was getting closer to her purse with every step she took. All that she had to do was distract him long enough to get to it.

“Mr. Urich paid for his visit to my mother with his life alone,” Fisk said, tapping his fingers on the desk. “You, Miss Page, will drown in the blood of every person you’ve ever touched before you suffer the same fate as my friend.”

Karen flinched at his words, remembering Wesley’s threats as they stared each other down across that table. It seemed that the method of intimidation he used was inherited from his employer. Faces passed through her mind one after another. Everyone she cared about. Everyone she loved.

“Just kill me and get it over with,” she said, her voice slowly becoming steadier as she felt anger rise in her, battling with the fear. “I killed him. I deserve it. No one else.”

Fisk didn’t say anything, turning his head to look at the framed cutouts of Ben’s articles that were still on the wall. Karen took the chance that his momentary distraction gave her, turning towards the door to reach out for her purse. Her eyes caught on movement before she could close her hand around the strap and she gasped at the gun that was leveled between her eyes, freezing her in place as another man stepped through the door. The sharp cut of his jaw and the glittering coldness in his eyes sent fear shooting through her once more.

Before she could fully wrap her head around his appearance, movement out of the corner of her eye made her gasp and turn just before a large hand closed around her throat and shoved her into the wall. Fisk’s face filled her vision, barely restrained fury burning in his eyes as she gasped and clawed at his hand, trying desperately to free her from his confining grip. Even as she sank her nails into his skin and kicked at his legs, his hold on her never relented. Tears burned at her eyes and slipped down her cheeks as Fisk’s lip curled upwards almost in disgust.

In those brief moments, it felt like her head would explode as she fought to get away, her thrashing growing weaker by the second. Darkness began to close in at her vision just before his grip on her relented. She gasped for air while her mind swam and her chest burned, her entire body shaking violently as she slid to the floor and touched her hand to her raw, throbbing throat. Karen couldn’t bring herself to look up at him as she tried to regain control of her body, hoarse sobs tearing from her lips.

“Until we meet again, Miss Page,” Fisk’s voice filtered through her muddled mind.

It was impossible to know how much time passed before she could bring herself to look up at the empty office around her that suddenly felt far less safe than before. Karen maneuvered herself to lean back against the wall, closing her eyes and pressing her hands to her face as she felt every emotion crashing through her all at once. The reality of her situation crashed down on her all too quickly. He could have ended her there and then. Left her cold and lifeless to be found by whoever was unfortunate enough to come in the office first the next morning.

But Wilson Fisk was intent on making her suffer. Did he think she would sit idly by and let him kill everyone who was important to her? Did she have any other options? Karen knew better than to delude herself into thinking that anywhere was safe to go. Last time, he managed to get half the police force and several people in high positions on his payroll. Who was to say that history wasn’t repeating itself? That she would find protection in a police station or a hospital?

Her entire body ached as she reached for her phone where it had fallen to the ground during the struggle but before she could close her hand around it, the crushing thought of leading Fisk straight to Foggy, Trish, or Brett struck her and she pulled her hand back as if it had been stung. Taking just a few more seconds to gather herself, she inhaled as deeply as she could and gritted her teeth against the pain in her throat before pushing herself to stand on unsteady legs. She stumbled into the wall and caught herself, taking a moment to get a steadier footing before she reached out to take hold of her purse.

She made her way out of the office slowly, leaving her phone behind along with anything else that could make her trackable. Her mind worked to come up with a plan even in its muddled state as she made her way to her apartment. Maybe it was the pain to blame or the desperation that was now deeply rooted in her chest but there was only one thing that she could think to do. Karen would need the help of a man she’d never met before but considering that she dug up his identity once when he was hiding away from the world, she assumed it would be easy enough to find him now that he was living out in the open.

All she could do was hope that David Lieberman wouldn’t turn her away.

*****

Getting to her destination wasn’t easy when she was working with nothing but an aching body, an address drudged up from deep in her memory, and the compulsive need to double back every so often to make sure she wasn’t being followed. By the time she pulled up to a nice-looking suburban house in Ben’s battered car, the sun was well above the horizon and the neighborhood was filled with activity that was usual for a late summer morning. She had to fight to drag her exhausted self from the driver’s seat and up the driveway, her purse clutched in one hand the entire way.

It wasn’t until her loosely clenched fist came down on the door in several weak-sounding knocks that it hit her just how bad of an idea it was to accost a man at his home when she didn’t even know him. Guilt hit her directly in the chest as she pressed her hand over her mouth, her stomach churning and her eyes prickling with unshed tears. Karen didn’t know why she thought it was a good idea to come but before she could even manage a step back, the door swung open and she was suddenly face-to-face with a young girl.

With her light brown hair pulled out of her face in a ponytail and big, warm eyes that didn’t seem to miss much, the mere presence of Leo Lieberman made Karen feel even worse. She didn’t take any of this into account, even though she knew that David Lieberman had a family. It didn’t occur to her until now that she’d have to be faced with them and as she looked at this girl, she knew that it wasn’t her right to drag her shit to their doorstep no matter how desperate she was. 

“Dad!” the girl yelled before Karen could get a single word out.

She had been ready to walk away but someone yelled back before Karen could get in a word edgewise. The girl’s eyes darted over her, taking her in before fixing just beneath her chin. She knew that she had to look terrible all around but Karen also knew without a doubt that the bruises on her throat would stand out the most.

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know,” Leo answered. “She’s hurt, I think!”

Karen lifted her hand, covering her throat as she shook her head and took a step back, holding her other hand out to stop the girl from saying anything more. Then a man came into view and stopped short just behind his daughter, one of his hands lifting to rest on her shoulder as the other took hold of the door. Karen waited for him to slam it in her face. Not that she would blame him one bit. He got out. He was safe from the monsters that threatened him and his family. She had no right to drag him into her mess. She started to turn away, the last vestiges of hope drifting away until the sound of his voice stopped her in place much like his daughter’s had.

“Jesus,” David Lieberman said, shock clear in his voice. “Karen Page?”

She turned her head and looked at him, her eyes growing wide with surprise.

“You know who I am?” Karen said, nearly wincing at how scratchy and hoarse her voice sounded.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding his head as the corner of his mouth ticked upwards. “Yeah, I-”

He broke off, his eyes darting down to Leo before lifting to meet hers again. Karen let her hand fall away, folding her arms over her chest as she braced herself for the dismissive words that she was certain would come. But then his eyes dropped to her discolored throat and his eyes flashed with concern.

“You should come in,” David decided, taking a step back and pulling his kid with him as Leo looked between them both with a confused expression on her face.

Karen started to shake her head, knowing full well that she was acting crazy. Showing up one second and refusing to walk through the door the next. It wasn’t fair of her. Not when Fisk was so dangerous. Not when the Liebermans had been through so much. They deserved their peace. And Karen? She deserved whatever she got. If not for what happened to James Wesley, then for what happened to her brother.

“I’m sorry,” she said, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I shouldn’t have-”

She cut off, shaking her head and turning away. Her feet wouldn’t move, fixing her in place as she pressed a hand over her eyes and tried not to break down fully in front of a stranger’s house. Karen barely heard the shuffling behind her and only managed a gasp when a hand touched her shoulder. Looking up, she met David’s kind eyes and almost wished they weren’t so.

“He’d have my ass if I left you out here,” he said, his mouth forming that same almost smile as awareness passed between them. “But even if that wasn’t true, I’d still want you to come inside.”

Karen didn’t know quite what to say to that. She tried not to let the relief settle in her chest but it was impossible. All that she could do was nod, slipping past him when he stepped aside. Her first impression of the house that surrounded her was warmth and not just because of the temperature. It felt lived in, in a way that she hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Feeling eyes on her, she swiped at her cheeks and inhaled deeply, telling herself silently and sternly that she would not lose it again.

“I’m sorry to show up like this,” she said, turning towards David as her fingers brushed over her raw throat. “I… I didn’t know where else…”

Trailing off as she saw the understanding in his eyes, Karen pressed her lips together and nodded her head again. He knew. Maybe not the specifics but he knew what it was like. To be backed into a corner with no way out but one. That’s why she came to him. Foggy didn’t have the experience and Trish didn’t need the burden. Matt might have understood but Matt was gone. The last person who could help, the inexplicable man that drew Karen and David together even if they’d never exchanged a single word before now, was a ghost as far as she was concerned.

“David?”

A new voice joined the fray. Karen’s eyes flitted past David to the woman who walked into the entryway closely followed by her very worried-looking daughter. The same guilt barely had time to manifest before Sarah Lieberman was moving towards Karen, her lips parted slightly and her eyes round with surprise and worry.

“Oh God,” she said, her eyes darting to Karen’s neck. “Leo told me that-”

Sarah’s gaze cut to her husband for a moment before going back to Karen, a small line forming between her brows as she set her jaw with a determination that Karen did not expect.

“Take her to the living room,” Sarah said, reaching out to brush her hand over David’s shoulder. “I’ll get some ice for that.”

She nodded at Karen before turning away again.

“C’mon,” David said, tilting his head in a gesture for Karen to follow him.

She moved hesitantly, her eyes darting this way and that until she was sinking onto an unfamiliar couch with her purse settled in her lap. Karen knew that this family wasn’t a threat to her but the idea of setting down the only protection that she had made her insides twist with anxiety. David sat on the other side of the couch while Leo took up a wide-eyed position in the armchair, her legs drawn to her chest and her chin settled on her knees. A tense silence settled over the room, broken only by the sound of Sarah rummaging around the kitchen. Karen knew that David had questions on the tip of his tongue but she could see him battling with himself silently out of the corner of her eye.

“You’re a journalist, right?” Leo finally asked.

Karen looked her way at the same time as David, watching as Leo glanced between them before settling on Karen again.

“I recognize your name,” she said with a shrug.

“Yeah,” Karen said with a nod, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I am.”

Leo’s eyes moved to her father, her throat bobbing as she swallowed before speaking.

“She wrote that story,” she said, knowledge in her voice that seemed to age her several years beyond what Karen guessed was fifteen or sixteen. “Does she know him?”

It wasn’t hard to figure out who she was talking about. Karen tensed up yet again as David opened his mouth even though his expression made it clear that he had no idea what to say.

“Honey, why don’t you go upstairs and see what your brother is up to?” Sarah said, saving them from Leo’s questioning gaze. “Me and your dad need to talk to his friend here.”

Leo looked like she wanted to argue but one stern look from her mother along with a nod from her father had her rising from the chair with a heavy sigh. It was almost uncanny, how familiar that sigh sounded. Karen remembered emitting quite a few of them as a teenager. Her lips curved upwards slightly as she watched Leo go before the weight of her situation settled on her shoulders again. Sarah held the ice pack out to her and she took it with a quiet whisper of gratitude before settling it against her throat. The relief wasn’t instantaneous but it offered some easement of her pain. Sarah looked just as curious as David as she took the spot that her daughter vacated, folding her hands in her lap with an unwavering gaze.

“I assume you know who Wilson Fisk is,” Karen said, getting to the point before their questions could start.

She watched them exchange a glance before they both looked back to her again.

“Everyone knows who he is,” Sarah said with a nod.

Karen swallowed hard and winced at the pain that flared when she did, pressing the pack more firmly to her bruises.

“He has it out for me.”

A beat of silence passed before David cleared his throat and braced his hands on his knees.

“Well you, uh… you did help put him away,” he said with a nod as if he understood the reasoning.

Karen didn’t contradict him. It was easier to let them believe that was why Fisk wanted her dead. They didn’t have to know what she did.

“I can take care of myself,” she said, despite all evidence to the contrary since she was on their couch with bruises in the shape of fingers on her throat. “But it’s not just me he wants dead. It’s everyone I know. He wants to kill them all before he gets to me. Just by being alive, I’m putting people I care about in danger.”

Her eyes swung to David, meeting his gaze. Karen could see the realization stirring in his face. He’d been through this before.

“So you came here,” Sarah said, not quite making the connection.

Karen nodded, looking down at her lap.

“Fisk’s reach is historically terrifying,” she said, remembering just how many policemen and politicians he had on his payroll. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

“How much did our mutual friend tell you about me?” David asked after a few moments of quiet.

“A little bit,” Karen admitted, lifting her head again to look at him. “Put a little more together from what I could find out. You made yourself disappear.”

He nodded, his thumb tapping the inside of his knee in a motion she knew was a tick. Matt had his fair share and Frank had even more.

“Now you want to do the same,” David said.

She didn’t bother to answer. It was obvious by now.

“Wait,” Sarah said, leaning forward as she lowered her voice to a near whisper. “You want to… to do what David did? Fake your death?”

Karen gave her a long look before answering.

“Suicide,” she said, her hand tightening around the ice pack. “It’s a desperate move and makes sense if I’m trying to protect the people I care about.”

“What makes you think it’ll work?” David asked.

She shrugged, knowing on a level that Fisk may try to kill any number of people anyway. But if she could buy some time, maybe it would be enough to come up with another plan to keep them safe.

“I can’t do it alone,” Karen said, running the fingers of her free hand through her hair and catching on a few tangles. “I don’t know how.”

David leaned back against the couch, rubbing a hand over his jaw as he stared off at nothing. Sarah looked like she had too much to say but didn’t know how to say it. Karen could sense their hesitation and knew why they felt it. They’d both lived through exactly what she was suggesting, on either side of the experience. With a humorless laugh, she let her hand fall from her neck and shrugged her shoulders again.

“It’ll be easier for me,” she said, refusing to let her emotions overwhelm her. “I don’t have all of this.”

Her hand gestured around them as her eyes caught on Sarah’s, easily reading the sympathy in them.

“You said it yourself,” David said, looking her way again. “There are people who will care.”

She couldn’t deny that. But when it came down to it, she was willing to make the sacrifice if those people stayed alive.

“There is one message I want to get to someone if you’ll help me,” she said, thinking of Foggy. “I left my phone behind so I didn’t get a chance.”

“Smart,” David said with a nod.

Sarah stood up before they either of them could say another word.

“I know my opinion doesn’t matter much here,” she said, her eyes darting from Karen to her husband and back. “But you look like you’ve been through hell and I really think you could use some rest. I’ll make sure our guest room is ready for you but before I do, just… sleep on it. Make sure you know what you’re doing here. I’ve been on the other side of an impossible situation just like this and if there’s an option you haven’t thought of yet, I think you owe it to yourself and to a lot of other people to try that first.”

Before Karen could so much as react to her words, Sarah turned to walk away. The soft falls of her steps faded as she walked up the stairs. Silence blanketed the room until Karen let out a quiet sigh.

“She doesn’t have to do that,” she said.

“Yeah,” David said, looking over at her. “She does.”

Karen studied him for a few moments, seeing the questions in his eyes.

“Do you agree with her?” she asked, sitting up a little straighter as she brought the ice pack back up to her throat.

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes darted from her to his lap, which seemed to become very interesting since he stared at it for an almost uncomfortable length of time.

“I don’t know,” David admitted, finally lifting his head again. “Guess I gotta take some time and think about it too.”

Karen didn’t resent him for that. No matter how desperate she felt, she wouldn’t blame him for showing hesitation when it came to getting in the middle of all of this.

“I don’t know if I should stay,” she admitted, looking around.

“You’ll be safe here,” David said as if he could read her mind. “Trust me, there’s no way I’m putting you out on your own.”

Karen gave him a grateful half-smile, wishing she had the words for the depth of how she felt. He pushed up to stand before she could try, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck before looking down at her.

“I’ll walk you up there,” he said, tilting his head towards the stairs.

She pushed herself to her feet, wavering a little as exhaustion began seeping into every inch of her body. Karen blinked away the fog that nudged in at the corners of her mind and walked just behind him up the steps. About halfway up, David hesitated and turned around to look at her, that same line forming between his brows.

“You know, when that bomber was threatening you, Frank just about lost his damn mind,” he said, letting that name hang in the air between them for the first time. “I asked why he was so determined to take the guy on and the one thing he told me, his only justification, was that he was coming for  _ you _ .”

Karen stared at him, her heart inexplicably picking up pace in her chest as she wondered why he was telling her this.

“I asked why he cared so much, cause he never would tell me how you fit in everything, and he asked me what I’d do if it were Sarah,” David said, gesturing up the steps with one hand. “I told him that Sarah’s my family and he said it was the same with you.”

A small gasp slipped from her lips as she brought her hand up, her fingertips barely grazing her mouth.

“You’re family,” he said simply, as if that’s just how it was.

With that, David turned to walk the rest of the way up. Karen watched him go, letting the words sink in before she forced herself to follow him.

*****

She barely remembered making her way to into the guest room, much less falling asleep. Yet here she was, stirring in an unfamiliar bed in clothes that didn’t belong to her. It was impossible to know how long she’d been asleep but judging by the soft sunlight that filled the room, it was most likely sometime in the evening. As Karen shifted, blinking her eyes open, the memories of how she got there came rushing back along with the raw ache in her throat just as she became aware of another presence in the quiet room. Her instincts flared as she startled, reaching for the other side of the bed where she’d left her purse within reach. Before she could take hold of it, a hand caught her wrist as a voice rose out of the shadows that were blurred by her sleepy eyes.

“Shh,” the person hushed her, his thumb sweeping over the inside of her wrist as she blinked rapidly to place the familiar sound. “Easy there.”

Karen relented as soon as she realized, sinking back onto the bed with a heavy release of breath. The hand released her wrist as she felt the other side of the bed shift. Then came the brush of fingers over her temple and a callused palm pressed gently to her cheek, his thumb brushing along her cheekbone. He swept her hair out of her face before his fingers drifted lower, lightly tracing the bruises on her throat that were revealed by the borrowed t-shirt she wore. The gentle touch sent a shiver down her spine and she let her eyes fall closed for a moment, very briefly wishing that it didn’t always take something like this to pull him out of the shadows.

“Shit,” Karen breathed out in the same raspy voice, grimacing as she pushed up to sit.

Frank’s hand fell away and she lifted her head, meeting his dark gaze. His hair was longer again and his face was clear of bruises, an odd sight for the man who seemed to be injured more often than not. He looked good. Karen’s mind traitorously made a note of that fact even in the middle of all this. She resisted the urge to lift her hand and touch him, to make sure that he was solid and real where he sat. They studied each other for a long time. Minutes may have passed in complete silence before she opened her mouth to speak.

“I didn’t tell them to call you,” she said, pushing her hair out of her face as she turned over to sit, looking away from him.

“You surprised they did?”

His voice was as low and rough as always, the sound of it pulling the tension from her form in spite of herself. There was something in the undercurrent of his words. A barely restrained fury that she hardly noticed anymore. It seemed like angry was Frank Castle’s default state. There was a part of Karen that hoped it would go away when he had his vengeance and all the people responsible for his suffering were dead or locked away. With a sigh, she leaned back against the headboard behind her and closed her eyes.

“I didn’t know you were close like this,” Karen said, changing the subject. “Didn’t even know if you were dead or alive which isn't exactly new but I thought if you survived it all, you’d at least put some distance between you and the city.”

“I’ve been around,” Frank said simply, keeping it unsurprisingly vague. “Lieberman knows how to contact me.”

She turned her head, opening her eyes to peer at him again.

“Well I’m glad someone does,” Karen said, trying her best to keep any bitterness out of her voice.

She knew it wasn’t the time to think about this. Not when shit was collapsing around her. Karen thought that if he survived taking down everyone involved with his family’s death that he’d at least give her some way of contacting him other than a vase of now dead flowers. She’d never been good at keeping things alive anyway. Not even herself, as it turned out. Reckless could be it, or at least it was one word she could imagine Matt using to describe her if he was still around. Still, even the slight bitter feeling she had couldn’t chase away the relief that he had that after she wanted for him.

“Why the hell is Fisk after you like this, Karen?”

She blinked at him as his words tore her from her thoughts, a chill running through her She knew he wouldn’t be as easy to misdirect as the Liebermans.

“I helped put him away,” Karen reminded him, the half-truth tasting sour on her tongue.

Frank didn’t lie to her. She knew it was only a matter of time before the truth spilled from her lips. Minutes, even. But Karen felt the driving need to delay it as long as possible, knowing what would happen the moment he found out why Wilson Fisk was gunning for her so hard.

“That’s not it,” Frank said, shaking his head. “Nelson’d be right by your side if that’s all it was. Something’s got you runnin’ scared and we’re not doing a thing until you tell me what it is.”

She drew her knees up to her chest beneath the covers on the bed, ducking her head and taking a deep breath.

“Why does it matter why he’s after me?” she asked in a trembling voice.

Frank scoffed and she just knew that he was shaking his head even if she couldn’t see.

“It just does, and you know it. I can’t protect you unless I know the facts,” he said, his voice a little louder.

This conversation felt far too familiar to her. Karen was almost tired of the deja vu.

_ “I can’t go after these men and keep you safe.” _

_ “You don’t have to keep me safe.” _

_ “What do you mean I don’t have to keep you safe?” _

She blinked away the memory of their heated words.

“I didn’t ask for that, Frank,” Karen said, shaking her head.

His eyes flashed and he straightened up, rolling his shoulders back like he was just readying himself for the fight.

“Didn’t have to,” Frank said simply.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“No,” Karen told him, the word short and cold as her own voice rose. “You do not get to do that. I’m not another crusade for you, Frank Castle. You don’t get to decide to be that and tell me I have no choice.”

“So what? You want me to sit by and watch? Twiddle my goddamn thumbs while this asshole comes for you?”

She huffed out a scoff, pressing her face into her hands for a few moments before dropping them.

“ _ I _ brought this shit down on me,” Karen said, looking at him again. “ _ I _ am finding my own way out.”

“How?” Frank demanded again, looking more tense with every passing second. “How’d you do that, Karen?”

She stared him down, her jaw set stubbornly as he fisted the blankets in one hand and tapped rhythmically against his thigh with the other. Another long minute passed before they heard the creak of a loose floorboard outside of the door. Their heads moved at the same time, their eyes fixing on the doorway as a hesitant figure came into view.

“We heard you talking and thought she might be awake,” Leo said, looking between Karen and Frank with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty. “Mom sent me up with this.”

She held up a fresh ice pack wrapped in a towel, stepping inside when Karen nodded at her, her tense form deflating as she held a hand out, gesturing for Leo to come in.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Frank said, his voice soft again as he took the ice pack from Leo before she could hand it off to Karen.

There was something different in his demeanor. Something that Karen had never seen before. She had no way of knowing but as she watched him give Leo a nod, Karen wondered if she was seeing the smallest glimpse into the man he used to be around his kids.

“Mom’s makin’ some tea, too,” Leo said, looking a little more comfortable. “I’m sure she’ll bring it up in a few minutes.”

Karen shook her head, waiting for Frank to hand the ice pack off to her.

“No need. Tell her I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Leo nodded, casting one more glance Frank’s way before turning towards the door, only pausing to shoot a smile their way when Karen offered a soft “thank you” in her direction. Then she was gone, leaving them alone again. Karen stuck her hand out for the ice pack but as Frank turned towards her, he didn’t place it in her palm. Instead, he adjusted the towel around the bag and lifted it up, reaching out to press it to her throat gently. His hand covered the whole thing, making sure it stayed in place as his eyes remained fixed on it as if he’d heal her bruises by sheer force of will. After a moment or two, Karen hesitantly lifted her hand and covered his with it, her breath leaving her body in a slow exhale as she surrendered the need to fight with him about this.

“I killed someone,” Karen said, the words leaving her lips before she could call them back.

Frank’s eyes snapped to hers, his brow furrowing slightly. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath before continuing, knowing that there was no going back now.

“We were trying to bring down Fisk and I got really close. Found his mom and visited her,” she said, recalling it all like it was yesterday. “It wasn’t Fisk who found out. Someone close to him, a man who worked for him, drugged me and brought me to this abandoned building in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen. He threatened me with a gun and then put it on the table between us. As soon as he got distracted, I grabbed it and put seven bullets in him.”

Her hands trembled as she spoke, all too easily remembering the weight of the gun in her grip.

“Course you did,” Frank said after a beat of silence.

Karen closed her eyes, hating the tears that burned at her eyes as the burden of this secret she’d kept for so long lifted from her shoulders.

“Fisk found out,” she said, feeling a tear trace a path down her cheek. “I don’t know how but he… he wants me to suffer for it.”

She felt Frank’s free hand on her arm and opened her eyes, looking at him warily.

“We’re not gonna let that happen,” he said, a promise in his words.

“Frank-” Karen sighed.

“Hey,” he said, cutting her off. “I’m the one who cut a fucking deal with him. He’s grabbing power again cause I left him a wide open opportunity. Now I’m not about to apologize for what I did but it’s just as much on me as it is on anyone to make sure he gets what’s comin’ to him.”

Karen stared at him, knowing that there wasn’t an end to this conversation that had Frank packing it in and agreeing not to go after Fisk.

“So it’s not just about me?” she asked, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

Frank’s eyes changed instantly, a glint shining in them that was far too familiar.

“Afraid not, ma’am,” he said.

Karen took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, keeping her hand covering his on the ice pack.

“Did they tell you why I came here?” Karen asked, feeling like she already knew the answer.

“Yeah,” Frank said.

“What do you think?”

He didn’t answer at first, his eyes darting over her face as if he was trying to find something.

“I don’t know yet,” Frank said, shaking his head slightly. “Guess we’ll talk about it over tea.”

Karen’s face broke out in a grin in spite of herself and she couldn’t help the laugh she let out. Judging by the way his eyes crinkled at the corners and his own lips curved upwards, Frank didn’t mind so much.

“Words I never thought I’d hear from you,” Karen admitted.

“Yeah,” he agreed, his eyes dropping to make sure the ice pack hadn’t slipped. “I’m just hoping Sarah’s got some coffee down there too.”

Frank started to shift away, his hand moving from beneath hers once he made sure she had a good hold on the ice pack. But Karen’s free hand shot out, grasping at the sleeve of his jacket as she looked him in the eyes, moving from beneath the covers without care for the fact that she was wearing a borrowed pair of pajama shorts from Sarah that rode high on her thighs. He didn’t look anyway, his eyes fixed on hers as she moved closer, dropping the ice pack to the bed just before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Thank you,” Karen breathed.

It didn’t take long for his arms to fit around her waist, pulling her flush against him as he turned his face into her hair. Unlike their last hug, when Karen had taken him by surprise, they both lingered in the embrace for a long time. When he finally stirred and began to pull away, she turned her face and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, pulling away quickly before anything else could happen. As she reached for the ice pack again, Frank’s rough fingers brushed gently over her bare knee and she looked up at him again with color rising to her cheeks.

“It’s good to see you,” he said quietly.

Karen’s chest warmed at his words and she nodded, battling the urge to press her lips fully to his and do what she’d wanted to for a while now.

“You too,” she replied.

They stared at each other for another moment longer before he pushed up to stand. Karen moved as well, grabbing her clothes up from the dresser in the corner to change. Frank lingered in the doorway, his hand on the knob of the door as he looked over at her. Karen had the feeling that no matter what she wore, she’d always feel laid bare by that intense stare of his. It wasn’t a sensation that she minded so much. She just had to wonder if it would ever stop affecting her so much. Part of her hoped it never did.

“See you down there,” Frank said.

“Yeah,” she said, brushing her hair back. “I’ll just be a minute.”

He nodded and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone. As she took a deep breath, holding her clothes tight in her hands, Karen silently prayed that things would be different this time. The hope she’d lost after Fisk threatened her returned in full force now that she knew she wasn’t fighting alone.

She just hoped that this time, she wouldn’t have to say goodbye.

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to hear what you think!


End file.
